Mike Price of MAP Engineers, representing developer Alliance Realty Services, said a committee of local representatives and the development team held several meetings related to the proposed store. He said the building's look follows the "roots of our industrial past."

Also, two other buildings with retail shops are to go close to the intersection of South Broad and West 35th Street. Price said those were designed with quite a bit of glass and sitting close to the street "to create an inviting atmosphere" with a plaza area.

In July, the 32,000-square-foot store cleared a key hurdle as members of the Chattanooga-Hamilton County Regional Planning Commission approved a zoning variance for the project.

Developers of the proposed store will go before the Chattanooga Board of Zoning Appeals on Nov. 7 to try to gain three variances to move the project ahead.

The three variances for the development, proposed for the site of the former Mount Vernon restaurant at South Broad and St. Elmo Avenue, would allow:

* Front setback from the primary street (Broad Street) to be increased from some 15 feet to about 64 feet for the main building.

* Parking between the building and primary street.

* The percentage of doors and windows on the primary street facade of the main building to be reduced from the required 30 percent to a minimum of about 7.8 percent.

Jim Johnson, who heads Chattanoogans for Responsible Development, said none of the variances requested from the Board of Zoning Appeals falls into the category of a hardship.

"They fall into the category of an inconvenience or a way to save the developer money," he said.

What's next

The Chattanooga Board of Zoning Appeals is slated to meet Nov. 7 at 10 a.m. at the Development Resource Center on Market Street.

Document: South Broad Street Publix rendering 2

This rendering shows how the proposed Publix supermarket would sit on the South Broad Street block if it receives approval. (Rendering by Craig Design Group)

Johnson said the proposed layout of the Publix doesn't pay attention to a dramatic loss of tax revenue. A multi-story building place closer to the road along with retail shops and office space in place of a parking lot would create a larger payoff for the city, he said.